HISTORY OF THE MORIORI RACE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 896, 16 August 1910, Page 7

HISTORY OF THE MORIORI RACE.

STATEMENT BY 'pKOFESSOK MAO ' MILLAN BROWN. , ■ • (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) • Christchurch, August IS.' The distressing,death of Mr. Alexander Shand, the null kiiuwn Moriori authority, at the Chatham Islands on July 27, is.tho cause of very great regret, in. scientific' , ' . and other circles in this city, and tho destruction of his manuscript on' the history of the Moriori race, the result of forty years' work, is'{considered by many '• to be an irreparable loss. According to Professor MacMilUm Brown, however, tho loss,' great as it is at first sight,, may eventually prove to bo somewhat remediable. . , . •■■• -• .;' -. In. conversation with a "Press" reporter to-day, Uiq professor, stated that ' between 1894 and 1900 Mr. Shand was a constant contributor to the Journal.of tho Polynesian Society on Moriori history," :'•" etc., nnd: tho fourteen chapters he : had contributed to that jonrnal 'probably- contained tho nucleus of all he had written, since, and of all that was contained in '■ tho destroyed manuscript, so that his re- V, searches would not be'irrctrievably lost, . though there iuust havo, been large quantities of matter which he had obtained since from the two dozen or so.Morioris who were living when he was contributing to the Journal. ... "I don't think he ever wrote for any other journal," said'. Professor MacMillan - Brown.-.".T can't find any other article'".._. ■ of hisi so these contain probably all Kerv'-; shall : ever know of his researches." ; ■ Professor MacMillan Brown added .that about four years ago he spent half a day with Mr. Shand, and they had hardly boon two minutes together before they began arguing over the subjects so dear to . . both of them—the histories of the South;. Sea Island races.; ! ."With regard to tho. Morioris," concluded tho professor, "Mr. Shand was .the authority on those people;, There is no- : thing to be compared with bis knowledge of that small remnant between the iiboriginals and the Maoris." .'■■ Dictionary Destroyed. Dr. Chilton, who was a Very great friend of Mr. Shand's, informed . the "Press" representative that he had met him several times during, tho last nine years, Mr. Sham! having been in the habit of coming over'to New Zealand every year, partly for a change and partly on account of the rheumatism ho euilored from. It was the destruction of the';'-.. Moriori dictionary which ho had com-' piled that wan the irreparable loss. .This dictionary was intended to go as an appendix to Williams's Maori Dictionary, and what had delayed its 60 > long was {hat besides supplying tho mean- ' ing of overy word, it also gave a sentence .' in which was the word in order to illus- .' trato its," meaning:- The-last Dr. Chilton heard was that Mr. Shand had tho dictionary finished, and was'rovising. it. Dr.' Chilton said he understood' there was no other Moriori dictionary in existence, and unfortuuatoly all the old Morioris ivcro uow' dead. .Mr. Shaud's friends had been urging him for tho last.five or sis years to get tho dictionary finished. Dr. Chilton. l said that private' adrice had been received the other day that the dictionary had been recovered, partly charred and ' ■ burned, but the news tonvcyed in that morning's "Press", left no doubt as to tho. fate of tho work..